Government Approves Publication Of Criminal Law & Civil Law Bill 2025.

Government approves publication of Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025.

The Government has approved the publication of the Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025, a wide-ranging package of reforms designed to address urgent pressures across the justice system and deliver key Programme for Government commitments.

The Bill will, among other measures, criminalise “sex for rent” arrangements; strengthen protections for victims in sexual offence trials; support responses to prison overcrowding and violence, and modernise aspects of forensic and court procedures.

Key measures in the Bill

• Criminalise the exploitative practice commonly known as “sex for rent”.
• Reform the disclosure of counselling records in sexual offence trials.
• Expand the use of community service as an alternative to short custodial sentences.
• Remove the legal barrier to the regulated use of incapacitant spray by prison officers.
• Enable more advanced DNA analysis in missing and unknown persons cases.
• Facilitate bail and suspended sentence bonds being taken in custody settings.
• Put regulated outdoor seating for licensed premises on a permanent statutory footing.
• Allow the Chief Justice to delegate certain non-judicial functions to other judges.
• Tackling exploitation: new “sex for rent” offences.

The Bill introduces two specific criminal offences:

1. Offering accommodation in exchange for sexual activity.
2. Advertising accommodation in exchange for sexual activity.

These provisions cover both landlord–tenant arrangements and rent-a-room situations. The offences focus on the offer or advertisement itself; there is no requirement to prove that sexual activity occurred.
The proposed penalty is a Class A fine of up to €5,000.

Protecting victims: counselling records in sexual offence trials
The Bill will amend the law on the disclosure of counselling records in sexual offence trials by requiring a disclosure hearing in all cases, ensuring judicial oversight and that the privacy rights of victims and survivors are fully considered.

Responding to prison overcrowding and violence:
Community service in lieu of custody.

To support non-custodial sentencing, the Bill will:

• Require courts to consider a community service order (CSO) as an alternative to prison sentences of up to 24 months (currently 12 months)
• Require courts to give reasons where a CSO is not imposed
• Increase the maximum community service hours from 240 to 480
• Incapacitant spray for prison officers

The Bill will also remove the legal barrier to the use of incapacitant spray by prison officers, with use to be regulated under provisions made by the Minister through the Prison Rules. The Department has indicated these provisions are intended to be introduced by Committee Stage amendments.

Improving missing persons investigations: advanced DNA analysis.
The Bill amends the Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Act 2014 by inserting a new definition of “DNA profile” for missing and unknown persons cases. It also provides for more than one DNA profile to be generated from a relevant sample, to support more powerful identification techniques.

Modernising court processes, bail and suspended sentence bonds.

To better support remote/video-link participation in bail and sentencing hearings for people in custody, the Bill will:

1. Amend the Criminal Procedure Act 1967 to allow bail bonds to be entered before members of An Garda Síochána (where the person is in Garda custody)
2. Amend the Criminal Justice Act 2006 to allow suspended sentence bonds to be entered before prison governors (where the person is in custody)

These changes are intended to reduce the need for escorts to and from court and deliver time and cost efficiencies.

Civil law measures: outdoor seating for licensed premises:
The Bill gives permanent effect to legal provisions for a regulated outdoor seating regime for licensed premises.

Judiciary: delegation of non-judicial functions:
The Bill includes provisions to allow the Chief Justice to delegate certain non-judicial functions to other members of the judiciary.

Provisions not proceeding:
Measures from the General Scheme relating to the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 are no longer proposed for inclusion in this Bill, as they have been provided for separately, under the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2025.